The present invention is related to a powered apparatus and method for more efficiently installing a center support structure into a tire.
Heretofore, considerable hand work and complex fixturing has been required to install a center support structure into a tire. For example, radial expansion of a split rim into the inside diameter of a tire has been accomplished by using oil pressure to fill a rubber bladder arrangement secured to the outer periphery of a metal ring. This was a slow and vexatious procedure, and difficulties were experienced with release of the oil from within the bladder arrangement and removal thereof after the split rim had been expanded to the desired diameter. Furthermore, these prior procedures involved a substantial expenditure of manual effort in order to precisely center and position the tire and various fixtures, including those fixtures required to subsequently install and press the wheel mounting element axially into the split rim, and also those fixtures required to disassemble the components of the wheel after it had been operated in the field.